


The End of Katherine Howard

by musical_stan_first_human_later



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23675812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musical_stan_first_human_later/pseuds/musical_stan_first_human_later
Summary: It's the night before Katherine Howard's execution. She tells herself she's ready, but really, who's ready to die?
Relationships: Anne of Cleves/Katherine Howard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	The End of Katherine Howard

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warnings: rape mentions

Katherine Howard knew she only had hours to live. In her mind, she told herself she was okay and that she had come to terms with everything. In reality, she wasn’t ready. Not to face the silent masses of watching eyes. Not to stare up at the executioner before the end. Not for her untimely death.

She was only seventeen, it was not supposed to go like this. In retrospect, she thinks, none of it was supposed to go like this. It wasn’t as if she wanted to betray the King and be sentenced to death. She didn’t want any of this, and yet she accepted it with a tiny smile and innocent gaze. Because what else could she do?

She never thought she would marry Henry. When he was married to her friend, her former queen, Anna of Cleves, she didn’t even think he had noticed her. She was just another servant of his wife of course. But then she would catch him giving her a glance in court. He would say things to her. Tell her how important she was. “Without you I don’t know what I’d do, love,” he had said once. 

Anna of Cleves was a lovely woman who Katherine looked up to. She was strong and brave, she had the makings of a warrior, all except for her sex. She was beautiful and gracious, Katherine didn’t quite see why Henry insisted on calling her a horse and complaining. In Katherine’s humble opinion, Hans Holbein had not been able to capture the beauty of the queen in a single picture, she was simply too heavenly for that. But Katherine never voiced her opinions to the king.

After Henry’s marriage with Anna was annulled, he immediately set his sights on Katherine. She wasn’t very influential, but her family was so desperate to climb the social ladder that they shoved her straight into the waiting arms of the King. They got married and Katherine did as she was told, not bothering to question whether or not Henry was the right man for her. “No other wish but his,” she would repeat like a mantra when things got bad. But overall, it seemed as if she was doing alright in court.

And then Thomas Culpeper. He had been the one friend Katherine needed in her life after she became queen. She only saw Anna during extravagant parties where they could only speak cordially and dance with each other for fleeting moments. Katherine cherished those moments, but they weren’t enough to ward off the terror of her life with Henry. Thomas was the one person who could, the only man Katherine finally felt comfortable with.

She got letters. Letters from Henry Mannox, Francis Dereham, and more, all claiming to know of her promiscuity. They blackmailed her into holding them up in court, giving them better positions with the King. She didn’t like being in such close proximity to these terrible men, but she didn’t have a choice, lest she end up like her cousin, Anne.

Culpeper was the only person who promised to keep her secrets and keep her safe. She believed him for the longest time, but even he was too good to last. Thomas took her hand and whispered a word she had heard all too many times. “ _Connection_.” Her blood ran cold thinking about his words. She had told him no, that he was only her friend, nothing more. She was married. But Thomas refused to let that stop him, and he kept pushing and pushing until finally he got what he wanted. 

Katherine couldn’t stop him. She begged and pleaded and cried but Thomas only pulled and took and hurt. 

He went around boasting to the other courtiers about what he had done with the queen. When Henry found out, she tried to tell him the truth, that she didn’t _want it_ , that it was Thomas’s fault, but Henry was furious and betrayed. He locked her up and tried to sentence her to death. She spent six months in a dirty cell while Henry wrote a law that would allow him to kill her legally in the eyes of God.

She still sat in that dirty cell. It was dark out, but she knew the light would be coming soon. She had a block set out in front of her, one she had specifically requested be brought so she could practice for her execution. If she were to be remembered, it was to be as a queen, not as a wailing child stolen too soon from life’s warm embrace. Every time she set her head on the block, she fought tears back as the reality of her death repeatedly slapped her on the face. Or rather, touched her on the neck.

When the cell doors started to rattle with the jangle of keys in the look, Katherine shot up in fear. It was too soon, they weren’t supposed to be coming for her yet. She had a few hours left. It wasn’t time for her to die -

The guard stepped through the door and closed it behind him. He wore armor and had a sword in a sheath while the keys used to unlock the door were in his hand. Katherine looked at the guard dressed from head to toe in armor and curled in on herself. She didn’t like being in confined spaces, especially with a man. If he wanted to hurt her, there was nothing she could do to stop him. “Please,” she whimpered, “It can’t be time yet.”

The guard quickly moved in the heavy armor and pulled off his helmet, revealing the surprisingly familiar face of Katherine’s old friend, Anna of Cleves. She was wearing a man’s armor and carried herself with an amount of dignity, but Katherine recognized her despite the new attire and slightly aged face. Eyes widening in shock, Katherine stood speechless. “How are you here?”

“We can speak about that later,” Anna said before stepping forward and holding a hand out to Katherine. “Right now we should leave before the guards start to notice that something’s amiss.” Katherine wanted to say something, to ask more questions, but her throat had sealed up and she didn’t know what to say. Anna was offering to help her escape. But she had been sentenced to death by the King. Didn’t that mean she was meant to take her punishment with dignity? Would God be mad at her if she did not allow Henry to kill her?

As Anna gazed at her, worried but hopeful, Katherine felt her more sensible instincts kick in. She couldn’t die here, not now, not yet. Standing up and slipping her hand into Anna’s, Katherine determinedly furrowed her eyebrows. Anna nodded and slid her helmet back on, leading the young queen out of the cell as quietly as possible.

Without being able to look at Anna’s face as they made their way through the palace, Katherine felt her breath hitch in her throat. Sensibly, she knew the sound of her breathing wouldn’t make a difference if they were caught, but she couldn’t help herself from tightening her chest in fear. The sounds of the castle were mostly quiet, save for the occasional drip of water from the ceiling and the slight draft that blew in through the small windows scattered throughout the dungeon. The guards must have been on patrol, but Anna seemed to know their patterns. Otherwise, they would’ve almost assuredly been caught the second Anna arrived.

All of the hallways looked exactly the same to Katherine, and she couldn’t help but feel like they’d gotten lost. But she trusted Anna, so she let herself be led in the dark. “Oh,” Katherine said in surprise as she and her former queen emerged from the dungeons through a secret door. It looked exactly like the cobblestone wall, but when Anna put pressure on it, the door swung outward.

“After you, Your Majesty,” Anna’s voice was muffled by her mask. Picking up her skirt, Katherine made her way out of the dungeon and onto the muddy grass. The feeling of freedom was strangely uncomfortable, but Katherine couldn’t find it in herself to complain. She and Anna were almost free of the palace, of Henry and Thomas and what Katherine thought was her inevitable death.

Leaving the dungeon behind, Anna brought Katherine around the back of the palace where a horse sat, it’s lead tied around a tree. The horse was scuffing at the ground, clearly sensing the nervous energy of the two queens. Anna shushed the horse and started petting it. She turned to look at Katherine, gesturing for her to get onto the horse. Instead, Katherine stepped forward and reached her hands out. She grabbed the sides of Anna’s helmet and pulled it off her head, revealing Anna’s face once again. Her cheeks were red and sweat ran down her brow showing her exhaustion after carrying around the heavy armor. “I prefer your face,” Katherine said simply at Anna’s confused face.

It was no matter to Anna who helped Katherine up onto the horse. Once Katherine was secured on the horse, she untied the lead from the tree and climbed up behind the teen. Anna grabbed the reins and urged the horse to get moving. They started off in a slow trot, but soon enough the horse was galloping with the two women on its back. “You’ll be safe with me, Kat, I promise,” Anna spoke loud enough that Katherine could hear her over the wind.

“Are we really doing this?” Katherine asked.

Anna frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do I really deserve to be saved? There’s a reason the King wants to execute me,” Katherine replied. Her voice wasn’t quiet, but with the wind rushing past her ears, Anna struggled to hear her words.

Moving a hand from the reins to Katherine’s arm, Anna tried to console her. “Of course you deserve to be saved. And Henry only wants to execute you because he’s embarrassed. I’m going to keep you safe, and when we’re free from him, you can finally be happy.”

“That sounds nice,” Katherine admitted while tilting her head up to look at the slowly lightening sky. “Do you think they’ll come after us?”

Anna shrugged. “Maybe at first they will. After a while, Henry will want to pretend this never happened. His ego is bigger than he is, and that’s saying a lot.” Katherine giggled but covered her mouth with her hand. Her whole life, she was told it was rude to laugh at a man or anyone superior to her. Anna didn’t seem concerned with her laugh. She even seemed to encourage it. “Richmond is splendid, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. And I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Why,” Katherine suddenly asked, “Why did you save me?”

Anna wished she could have Katherine face her so the younger girl could see her eyes. “Why wouldn’t I save you? Mein liebling, you’re my friend, and I care about you more than Henry or anyone in court. If I have to dress up as a knight and commit treason to save you, then that’s what I will do. You come first, Kat.”

Although she couldn’t see it, Anna knew there were tears in Katherine’s eyes. The small sobs that came from the form in front of her were proof of that. “Anna, thank you, thank you so much,” Katherine cried.

“You don’t have to thank me for saving you, Kat. I would do it a thousand times over. Now let’s get to Richmond and start your new life.”

And even though they couldn’t see it, both queens were smiling far brighter than they should have.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr, @musical-stan-first-human-later for my full masterpost of fics.


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